discuss: DocBook is a catastrophe
Subject:
Re: [discuss] DocBook is a catastrophe
From:
Yaroslav Fedevych ####@####.####
Date:
13 Dec 2005 06:54:01 -0000
Message-Id: <20051213065359.GA23409@fly.osdn.org.ua>
On Mon, Dec 12, 2005 at 08:51:38PM -0600, David Horton wrote:
> Yves Bellefeuille wrote:
> >My Hard Disk Upgrade Mini How-To has been part of the LDP since July
> >1997. I'm working on another How-To, and I've been trying to learn
> >DocBook. I'm convinced that this format, at present, is a catastrophe,
> >and that we're discouraging many possible contributors by using it.
> >
> >DocBook is the COBOL of mark-up languages. It's incredibly verbose, and
> >doing anything takes much longer than it should.
> >
> >Perhaps there's a tool to help prepare mark-up, but if so, it's a
> >well-kept secret. The LDP Author Guide recommends Eric Raymond's
> >"DocBook Demystification HOWTO", and it bluntly states that:
> >
> > "One thing we presently do not have is a good open-source structure
> > editor for SGML/XML documents."
> >
> >and that:
> >
> > "Most people still hack the tags by hand using either vi or emacs."
> >
> >I did try "txt2docbook". It produces DocBook all right, but it's
> >completely based on appearance, not structure. It has lots of <para>
> >commands, and nothing at all for tables and program listings and so on.
> >You might as well use HTML and <pre>.
> >
> >I'm convinced that we're shooting ourselves in the foot by recommending
> >DocBook at this time.
> >
>
> There is a nice GUI editor from XMLMind that makes writing DocBook very
> easy on the author. Their personal edition is a free download. A short
> tutorial at http://www.happy-monkey.net/docbook/gui-editor.html can get
> you started quickly.
>
> Dave
>
And what if I cannot/don't want to use any GUI editor (or wish to not
stick with proprietary software)? Shoot myself in the foot?
> http://www.happy-monkey.net/docbook/gui-editor.html
That domain name well speaks for itself. Is there something for mentally-
enabled humans?
By the way, conversion from DocBook to PS/PDF is terrible; in case of a
large document, it's hardly _possible_. The only good conversion is done
to HTML and to plain text (because there is lynx which does its job).
XML _sucks_. Even LaTeX is not as verbose, and can still handle
semantics of your text.
--
* For some reason, the United States is the only country on Earth
where accidents don't happen . it's always somebody's fault, and you
can sue that somebody for neglect.
